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Friday, December 28, 2012

Quick Links

Ergonomics and ease of use.This is a big one, so I I’m going to start here. Shooting all day handheld is hard enough. With the way the C100 is laid out it’s the most ergonomic camera I have used so far, straight out of the box with no add-ons. Here is why:

The last thing that needs to happen before you head out to set, or leave for remote field work, is to make sure that your media is formatted properly. This is especially true if you will not have access to a DIT, or a computer system, as you cannot erase cards in the camera. As of this writing, that formatting needs to be HSF+, so you will need a Mac to format the drives correctly.

Not too long ago I put together a video blog on how to use the Gemini 4:4:4 to record video and ARRIRAW. Since that time, Convergent Design has added the ability to record Canon Raw from the C500 to the Gemini. In my video I give a quick demonstration of the Gemini working with the C500, and then show how to import footage from the Gemini via their Transfer Station and a Seagate Go Flex adapter.

This spring, directors pursuing their big breaks will get invaluable hands-on time with tools needed in order to bring their visions to life. For the first time in 2013, SXSW Film will present the inaugural Come & Capture Film Factory, an event that will run over the course of four days during SXSW, from March 9 until March 12.

Canon also announced the 4K C500 but spoiled it by taking off the hand grip one of the best features when using the Canon C300. Canon also decided to make the C500 2K recordable internally leaving you the expense of having to buy an external 4K recorder, this in my opinion is the sole reason for the C500 sluggish sales.

"At this time we have no update regarding the status of the EOS 5D Mark II DSLR camera," a Canon U.S.A. spokesperson told Imaging Resource. "This product has been faithfully selling in the market since 2008 and has helped usher in a new era for Canon with the introduction of the Cinema EOS System."

This article is my account of using the C300 to shoot a short film. It is a complete chronicle of the effort, including stills and video clips. For those who would prefer to skip ahead, I’ve broken the piece down into hyper-linked sections:

While "The Avengers" posed many visual efffects challenges, one of the larger challenges was pulling together the "tie-in" shot during the third act of the film. Rather than frames, this single shot is measured in minutes on screen and is one of the longest effects shots in the film. It incorporates both practical special effects and extensive digital visual effects by ILM. The New York City environment that serves as the setting for this shot (and virtaully the entire alien invasion) is computer generated by the visual effects team at ILM.

Shot entirely on the RED Epic and using customizable underwater housing, submersible speakers, surface monitoring and some amazing breath holding, this series is one of the most impressive indie film series I have had the pleasure of viewing.

"There's no question that methodology is controversial but there was no debate about whether or not to include it in the movie because it's part of the history," she said. "That's an element we were working with. It was a question of working with the material and finding the right tone and balance. And also exploring other methodologies. Over the course of the decade many different approaches were utilized. Throughout that decade you see all the permutations and surveillance that were utilized. And the rest is history. It was all about finding the right balance."

I think I can explain all of this with a single thesis: Smart TVs are the literal, biblical devil. (That may be overly broad. Perhaps they are merely demonic.) But the bottom line is that smart TVs typically have baffling interfaces that make the act of simply finding and watching your favorite stuff more difficult, not less.